A Fist Out In Front
by max7238
Summary: Heathcliff never offered his fight with Kirito... Kirito requested it instead, and lost, being far too low level to fight the final boss. The fight to clear Aincrad rages on. Just a few heroes aren't enough anymore. Kirito and Asuna step into the background in this, the story of the spearhead of the new plan to clear the game...
1. Summary and Opening

What if Heathcliff never offered his fight with Kirito... What if Kirito requested it instead? What if he lost, being far too low level to fight the final boss? If it did, and here it has, the fight to clear Aincrad rages on. And if it took this long just to reach floor 75, how much longer could it possibly be?... Not long, right? If the surviving 6,147 players want to make it even one more step, they'd better fight twice as hard. Just a few heroes aren't enough anymore. The Black Swordsman and The Flash, Kirito and Asuna, step into the background in this, the story of the spearhead of the new clearing effort. Players who abandon their guilds, put everything they've got on the line, to be the first into every dungeon, every hallway... And every trap. And when one of them makes it out and passes on the information, the main force goes in... A solid plan, for now...

* * *

"But before we part ways... Kirito. You deserve a reward for uncovering my identity. I'll offer you a choice. You can choose to fight me, one-on-one, right here, right now. Naturally, I will disable my immortality. Defeat me, and the game will be cleared, allowing all players to log out. How about it?"

Kirito looked around. Everyone who had survived fighting the Skull Reaper, the floor 75 boss, lay paralyzed by the creator of the game. Heathcliff, secretly Akihiko Kayaba, had just given him the chance to set them all free.

"Don't do it, Kirito," said Asuna, his wife paralyzed in his arms. "For now... Just stand down."

As memories filled his head of all those he'd lost, all the despair he'd witnessed, he had an idea. He gritted his teeth and raised his head.

"Stand down...? Not on my life..." he said, laying Asuna down gently. "You hear me? I'll take your offer, but on one condition! This is supposed to be a free shot, right? Then I can't die. If my HP hits the red, I'll forfeit. But if I beat you, we all go home."

Heathcliff considered it. "Hmm... A good offer. Especially since you're far too low of a level to fight me yet. I accept."

Kirito drew his swords, spoke to Agil and Klein, and waited for Heathcliff to draw his sword.

"This is not a duel," Kirito thought to himself. "This is a fight to the death. That's right. I'm going to kill him, here and now!..."

* * *

Based on the animated adaptation of Sword Art Online.

Event 1: New Rules coming soon...


	2. Event 1

Event 1: New Rules

* * *

Kishiro held up the note. It was the latest free information available to all players. The note read...

"As of this morning, floor 79 has been cleared. 17 players died. Their names are listed below. The decision has been made to change the current clearing strategy. Details of the fight, also listed below, will show the need for this change. All players willing to join the clearing group, all of whom must be above level 100, should report to floor 80 by tonight. At sunset, there will be a conference deciding our new strategy. Boss details and casualty report follows:..."

Kishiro sighed. He looked over at his level. 101. On floor 78, he had decided to break from the group for a while and had ended up learning a few things on his own. This seemed like a good chance to rejoin the clearing effort, and he wanted to see what this new strategy would be. He stashed the note and pulled out his teleport crystal.

"Teleport, floor 80!" he commanded, and vanished in a blue flash.

The moment he appeared on floor 80, which instantly reminded him of a desert village he'd seen on television once, someone was already addressing him.

"Are you here for the conference?" asked someone.

Kishiro nodded.

"The meeting's gonna be in the marketplace tonight. Feel free to wait in any of the inns until then.

Kishiro didn't say anything about it, just nodded again and walked to the marketplace. There were already rows of wooden seats set up, and a short wooden platform for whoever was speaking. If this was going to be anything like the conferences he remembered, Kishiro would have his chance to contribute sometime later. For now, he pulled his brown hood over his close-shaved black hair and took a nap. The heat only made it easier for him to sleep...

* * *

Kishiro was woken by people moving about to find seats. He was in the front row, far left. Torches were lit everywhere for good lighting, and two or three people he recognized from previous boss-fights were on the platform. They seemed to be getting ready to make a report, or at least organize things. Kishiro removed his hood and sat straighter, squeezing his eyes shut to stave off the sleepiness. Sure enough, less than a minute later, a man with a huge ax on his back stepped forward to speak.

"Good evening everyone! Some of you may remember me as Agil. I'm a merchant and an ax user as you can see. I and a few of my friends called this conference to attempt to save lives in the future boss battles. I have up here with me the leaders of several guilds, which you can recognize by uniform. It's my job this evening to relay our suggestions to you all, and to mediate this conference. Anyone can speak, I only ask that you wait until my explanation is done."

No objections rose.

"Alright, then. Up until now, teams or solo players have gone in and sold or given away mapping data and enemy data. Teams have gone in in a whim to challenge the bosses. It has become increasingly obvious that this is no longer working. Therefore, there has been a new proposition set forth. Solo players, all of whom will be volunteers, will enter dungeons first and relay data as before. However, now everyone must be present to fight bosses. Solo players, this time, will hang back and let teams in first. As the teams distract and lure out the bosses attack patterns, solo players will deliver counter attacks and aim to kill the boss. This high up, the last-hit bonus doesn't work anymore. After floor 75, everyone who hit the boss gains the same experience, gold, and receives some items."

A hand went up in the third row. Agil stopped and let the player speak. They stood.

"There aren't many solo players left. Where are we going to get enough people for a plan like this!?"

"I was getting to that," answered Agil. He continued, his deep voice booming.

"At this point there are less than one hundred announced solo players. Many of them are no longer part of the clearing team. However, if anyone wants to become solo, and trust their guild to hold together, we plan to reward those volunteers with set amounts of gold."

Kishiro raised his hand. Agil stopped, so he stood to speak.

"This high up, if people need gold, they can hunt with their guilds or solo like always. Instead of gold, how about referring us to people who can fix or make us gear? Or how about assigning people with useful skills to support? Fighting is something all of us can do to some extent, but this high up sometimes it's lack of good equipment and support that causes failure. Personally, I've got a lot of metal stuff a smith could use, but I don't know one. See what I mean?"

Agil and many others didn't seem to have expected that.

"That's a good point. We have a few smiths and cooks on hand, and I'm sure some of you know others. If anyone wants to volunteer their support services, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the suggestion, sir."

Kishiro sat. Maybe now he'd get some real armor instead of just mob drops. He'd been running on terrible gear for ages, and several times it had almost cost him.

"Are there any more suggestions?" asked Agil.

No more hands raised.

"Are we in agreement to leave this floor's dungeon alone until the new force gets organized?"

No objections.

"Then we'll call another conference when we have the support ready and enough solo players to begin our assault."

* * *

After the conference, Kishiro stood up right away and went over to Agil.

"I'm not technically solo, but my guild stays on the lower floors and mines. I'll volunteer, and I can get my guild to start supplying the effort with spare metal and ore."

Agil nodded. "That would help. You made a good suggestion just now. I'm surprised we overlooked that part."

"It was nothing..." said Kishiro. He sent a blank message to Agil so they could contact each other later. Kishiro turned to leave.

"Wait," said Agil. "What weapon do you use?"

"Weapon?" said Kishiro. "I don't have a weapon..."

* * *

Sandstone chips hit Kishiro as he hammered away at the desert stones. He'd found gold and malachite while out wandering, so he'd gotten to work. Luckily, mining in Sword Art Online just involved hitting the rocks until ore was added to your inventory. Kishiro mined just like he fought, with his bare hands. If you counted using mob-dropped metal gauntlets as bare handed. Kishiro had decided very early on that he'd be one of the few using the hand-to-hand style. He'd taken martial arts classes in real life before getting trapped in this game, and they came in serious handy fighting. Of course, in real life he'd never have the endurance to punch stone with metal gauntlets, nor would he get anything out of it if he tried. He had just about maxed out his inventory when he got a message from Agil at last.

* * *

"We have a smith willing to pair up with you. Meet in marketplace."

* * *

Kishiro shook his hands to loosen up. He checked his inventory to make sure he'd gotten decent amounts of ore, then pulled his hood on and started walking. He didn't like using teleport crystals if he could help it. He sent a message back to Agil letting him know he'd been mining and to expect him back in two hours or so. The simulated desert wind whipped sand around Kishiro as he walked, no longer safely behind the rocks. Some enemies spawned, but the terrain was open enough that Kishiro could arc wide and avoid the fights. There'd be time for fighting later.

When Kishiro finally made it back, he stopped at a bank first to store away the stuff he'd mined until later. Then he headed for the marketplace. A few players sat here and there, but no one he recognized. It wasn't until he was approached that he knew who he was meeting. A girl with straight, black hair was walking over to him. She had on a blue outfit with black armor plates strapped to her chest, black metal boots, and black metal gloves. The only skin you could see was her face. At first glance, it seemed like she had been wearing a robe that had been cut to pieces, but it was all part of the armor set.

* * *

"Are you Kishiro?" she asked. She seemed quiet and calm, but the scythe on her back said she wasn't to be taken lightly.

"Yes. Are you the smith I was supposed to meet?" responded Kishiro.

"Yes. I'm Anko, master smith. I've already got metal ready, and I was told you're a miner. I can make you some gear that's much better than... What you've got."

Kishiro looked down. He wore a mixed set of whatever he could get off of the monsters he'd fought so far. Any smith could do better than this.

"I actually have a special request," said Kishiro. "And unless you've got obsidian stored away, I'll need to go get some for it."

"I only have enough to make a weapon or two. Nowhere near enough for armor, if that's what you're looking for. What kind of weapon do you use, anyway?" Anko asked because she didn't see one on him.

"I'm hand-to-hand. My damage scales with my gauntlets, endurance, and health. I'd like to see what kind of armor can be made with obsidian, especially since it's so hard to get."

"Well, I'm coming with you. And as long as it's not up ahead, I'm sure we can handle it."

"You don't have to. You'll be doing enough already by making and repairing my stuff. This is supposed to be volunteer stuff."

"And I'm volunteering."

Kishiro sighed. "I won't stop you, I'd just feel bad having you do so much. I don't like accepting help."  
Anko looked at his armor again. "I see..." She smiled, but somehow it wasn't sarcastic. It seemed almost like concern.

"So, floor 78, then?" said Kishiro, pulling out a teleport crystal.

"78? Are we going to that volcano dungeon?" asked Anko, pulling out her own crystal.

"Is there anywhere else to get obsidian?" said Kishiro, grinning. Since he'd seen that dungeon, it'd been his favorite yet.

"I suppose not."

"Teleport," they commanded together, "Floor 78!"

* * *

Since it was still early afternoon, Kishiro and Anko headed for the dungeon. Kishiro insisted on taking the front, so Anko watched his back. It was the first time Anko had seen someone fight who mained hand-to-hand. Kishiro was dodging strikes by a hair and slamming enemies as they missed him. Anko expected his fights to take a while, and at first she'd had her scythe at the ready. It quickly became obvious, however, that he didn't need help. Between fights he admitted to having practiced here for more than a week previously, and told her why he did so much damage. One of his skills with hand-to-hand was to cause heavy counter effects if he landed a hit during an enemy's attack. Even with bad gauntlets, he was able to drop most enemies in just a few hits. He was always a hair from major damage, however, because of how that skill forced him to fight. High damage, high risk.

Kishiro led Anko on, heading to the left on most paths, until coming to an upward sloping passage.

"Up ahead are the obsidian rocks. I've been up there long enough to look around, but there's a mini-boss up there. If you're ready, let's head up, wipe it out, and get what we came for."

Anko nodded, readying her scythe and praying the chamber was more open. If not, she'd have to resort to her curved sword and shield. Kishiro didn't warn her to not use the scythe, but he may not have considered it, since he didn't use weapons. Luckily, the passage opened up into a huge magma chamber. On the far side there was another passage, too dark to see into. To the right and left, the circular chamber was rimmed by huge black rocks. Magma ran down the dome, dripping from time to time. It was a very hostile place to be mining, but there was no mini-boss Anko could see.

"Maybe someone else killed the boss?" she offered, still inspecting the chamber.

"No," said Kishiro, "Look." He pointed at the dark passage opposite them.

"It's sleeping now, but if you try to mine the rocks here, the noise wakes it and it attacks. Are you good at sneaking?"

Anko shook her head.

"Then I'm just gonna wake it up and get this over with. Ready?"

"Ready," said Anko, stepping away from him to split enemy attention.

"Then here we go!" yelled Kishiro. He slammed his fist into the nearest rock, making a loud crashing noise.

White eyes opened in the dark passage and a roar issued forth. A huge obsidian dragon crawled from its nest, standing three times as tall as the players. Its wings had no membrane, just bones. It opened its mouth and roared again, charging Kishiro and Anko...

* * *

Event 2: Black Onslaught coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: I know Japanese, and as an added bonus for my readers, here are the names of Kishiro and Anko. Kishiro is a mash-up of "Shining" and "Castle." Anko is a mash-up meaning Dark Child. I figured cliché or dramatic names would fit, since they're supposed to be in game names. Kishiro (輝城、 キシロ), and Anko (暗子、 アンコ)


	3. Event 2

Event 2: Black Onslaught

* * *

"Stay back and attack openings! I'll handle this..." said Kishiro, stepping out in front of Anko.

"You don't even have a shield! You expect to fight that thing with your fists?!" she responded.

"Just trust me and watch for your moment, already!"

Kishiro jumped to the right, dividing the obsidian dragon's attention. He charged forward, right as it charged at him. With a slim body, made of black or deep purple stone, the dragon lashed out with long and skinny claws, bellowing as it did. Kishiro ducked and slid forward, right under the strike, and hammered the dragon's body with his steel gauntlets. His hand-to-hand damage scaled from gauntlets, but he hadn't found new ones for more than ten floors. Anko knew that much, so she was surprised to see the boss' health move at all. Kishiro had definitely done more damage than she expected, but there wasn't a chance for her to jump in yet.

The dragon raised it's head, striking like a snake at Kishiro. Kishiro twisted to the side, enough to avoid the blow by a few centimeters, then hooked a punch into the dragon's head. Twisted and off balance, the dragon stumbled, then lashed out with its tail. The tail struck Kishiro in the back and knocked a quarter of his health down, sending him sprawling on his chest. The dragon raised a clawed hand, high in the air and completely unguarded.

Anko dashed forward and swung her scythe from the ground up, intercepting the dragon's arm and chopping right through it. The dragon hugged the arm to its chest and roared at her, breathing white fire at her. Kishiro scrambled up, ran right under the dragon's mouth, and yelled something.

* * *

"Fist skill, level 1! Dire Uppercut!" he yelled, jumping into the air. His fist glowed, the system corrected his aim, and he slammed into the dragon's chin while its mouth was open. The dragon's mouth slammed shut, white flames shooting from gaps in its teeth, and it fell on its back. The dragon thrashed to keep from getting attacked, then rolled over and roared in anger at Kishiro.

"What the heck... Was that?!" said Anko, keeping back.

The dragon charged on all fours, ready to bowl Kishiro over.

"Fist skill, level 4! Balance Control!" he yelled. He rushed the dragon, swayed to the side just as its pointed nose would have impaled him, and hammered his fist into the side of the dragons head. This time, Anko noticed, he knocked half of one of the dragon's three health bars out in one swing. The dragon's head snapped to the right, its legs failing it from the force of the blow. Kishiro jumped back, fearing it would thrash again.

* * *

A few more minutes of the same style of fighting, and the dragon's third health bar dropped below half. It roared, throwing its head back. The magma dripping from the domed ceiling became more frequent, and began to damage Kishiro and Anko, no longer just a passive graphic. The dragon dashed forward and spun around, swinging its tail at both of them. Anko blocked and went skidding across the floor, sparks flying from the shaft of her scythe as it came in contact with the dragon's obsidian hide. Kishiro jumped over the blow and rushed in. As he got close, he slammed his fists together.

"Fist skill, level 3! Rage Stance! Level 6! Dire Straight!" Kishiro's body began to give off steam and he shot forward like rockets were strapped to his feet. No movement of his feet was needed, his glowing red fist carried him forward. Anko saw an attack buff and another symbol appear next to Kishiro's name. As the dragon's head came around from its attack, Kishiro punched it in the side of the head, in the same spot as before. Again, the dragon stumbled, its health down to a twelfth of the total now. Kishiro jumped back again. This time, Anko saw a different reason. His attack buff was gone, but the other symbol was still there. She assumed it was a penalty, and charged in to cover for Kishiro. The dragon breathed white fire at Kishiro, who panicked and held his arms up to try and guard himself. It was useless, since he had no weapon to block with, but it was still a natural reflex. Anko jumped, swinging her scythe down and to the left, passing it right through the dragon's neck. The swing put her in a spin, but she still landed on her feet behind the dragon. She looked at Kishiro's health as she readied her next swing. What had barely damaged her earlier had eaten Kishiro's health into the red zone. Luckily, her first attack had stopped the dragon, and it now turned to her. She dodged a few of its attacks, swinging her scythe every time it was open, drawing its health ever closer to death. She had just over half of her health left, and the dragon was on its last legs. Kishiro backed off, too damaged and still under his penalty. Anko finished the dragon with a slice that passed through its waist. It fell in half and shattered, its roar of anger fading forever...

* * *

Anko walked over to Kishiro. The magma drops had calmed down and stopped doing damage. "What was all that?" she asked, meaning his skills.

"It's just like weapon skills, only I get just ten of them, not weapon specific ones. People who use swords and maces get twenty to my ten, and all the more if they find rare weapons or unique skills."

"Hmm. I've never seen unarmed skills before. You used, what, four?"

"Yeah, and now I have to deal with this debuff for the next half an hour. I think it's worth it, since we managed to kill it."

"What is that debuff, anyway?"

"It's from Rage Stance. I get a ton of extra attack for one hit, but I'm much more likely to get hit with a critical for thirty minutes after... Which would be fine, if that dragon had just taken a swipe at me. But I got hit with who-knows-how-many crits from that fire breath."  
"Well, it's clear now. And your health seems to be going back up. Battle healing?"

"Maxed out."

"Guess it should be obvious for someone fighting barehanded."

"Yeah, thanks... What'd you get from the dragon?"

"Oh, right!"

Anko checked her inventory for anything new. She found nothing but fifty obsidian chunks.

"Just obsidian. Fifty chunks of it."

"Well, that makes less work for me, I guess. I'll get started, if you don't mind."

"Right. I'll keep you covered in case anything else spawns..."

* * *

Almost two hours later and both Kishiro and Anko had inventories full of obsidian chunks. They both pulled out teleport crystals and, at Anko's direction, returned to floor 65. Her shop was just a short walk from the teleport platform, and the two headed there right away. Kishiro summoned up all the obsidian he'd collected, holding three times as much as Anko, and set about keeping it in a pile near the furnace. Anko added the fifty she'd gotten from the dragon, and the rest Kishiro had given her to carry. He didn't carry many items, and had his weight load maxed, unlike her.

* * *

"So, master smith, what can you make with all this?" asked Kishiro, sitting down heavily next to the pile.

"I'll check the list," said Anko. She pulled up the long list of possible items she could craft, then had to narrow it to only using obsidian chunks.

"I have a few low level sets... Oh, wait! What rank are those chunks?"

"They have ranks?"

"Grade, whatever..."

Kishiro picked up one from the edge of the pile.

"Looks like A grade," he said.

"What about the ones from the dragon, then?"

"I didn't think of that," said Kishiro, standing up and digging into the top of the pile. He found a few chunks darker than the rest and checked it.

"These are S grade!"

"Then we'll make the gauntlets out of those."

* * *

Anko got to work right away, having Kishiro pick out all fifty of the S rank chunks and heating the rest into black ingots to make the armor. As she worked, the process oversimplified by the systems of Sword Art Online, she consulted Kishiro about any options she got. When the option for a secondary color came up, Kishiro asked for orange. When it came time to make the helmet, Kishiro just said he wanted the most protection possible. Finally, Anko switched to the S rank chunks for the gauntlets. Luckily, she had enough to try five times to make them, because she failed three times and the ingot shattered instead of reforming. With five ingots remaining of the S rank chunks, Anko decided to try and make a new scythe for herself. Lastly, she stored all the remaining obsidian in case a customer requested it. Kishiro's armor was placed on a rack, ready for him to retrieve and equip it. Anko already had her new scythe on her back, black with a double-sided blade. It had the rare ability to slice on both ends of the blade, instead of doing blunt damage with the top and slicing with the bottom. Kishiro inspected the armor.

* * *

"This'll be my first matching set since the first ten floors. And I won't have to worry about enemy drops for quite a long time. This stuff's gotta be four or five times better than my current armor."

"Try it," said Anko. After all they'd been through to get it, Anko was glad it had turned out well. The cuirass even had extra slash resist, which Anko hadn't expected. The armor disappeared from the rack and started appearing on Kishiro, piece by piece. First, the helmet; closed with an orange tassel hanging from the top and orange X's crossing at the ears and meeting in the middle, under his chin, over his forehead, behind the tassel, and at the base of the back of his head. The chest piece, a cuirass, had orange X's crossing under his ribs on both sides and in the middle of his back. The gauntlets had alternating orange and black joints, black on the fingertips, orange for the middle joint, black on the lowest, and orange palms. The arms had X's on either side, meeting on the top and bottom. The leggings, greaves, had X's on the shin guards and the tops of the feet. Kishiro looked completely different from the smattering of enemy armor he'd worn before, his armored cloak and steel gauntlets gone. His leggings had been a rare drop, but his new obsidian gear outstripped every piece he'd had four or five times over.

* * *

Kishiro twisted his arms and his back to see himself in the armor. Thanks to SAO's system, he could see right through the closed and faceless helmet.

"It has a name," said Anko, a faint grin of pride on her face.

"Does it? The item names just say it's obsidian stuff."

"It's in the description. 'Black Onslaught set, carved from the hardest rocks in Aincrad. Wearing the set grants additional defense, and enhances enemy aggravation toward the user.'"

"So I pull aggro easier now, huh? I would hope so! This stuff is frightening. And, yeah, I see the set bonus. I bet my damage is much higher now, too."

Anko allowed herself an actual smile at all that. It wasn't often she got to make rare items, and even rarer for her to make them for someone she knew would put them to good use.

"Thank you, really," said Kishiro, turning to her. "With this, I bet I'll even make it out of here alive. I'm sure I'll owe you my life many times over from here on. But make no mistake, I'll thank you every time. Thanking you in advance wouldn't be right."

He put his right arm across his stomach and bowed, the tassel on his head swinging down in front of him, the sound of heavy glass shifting over heavy glass announcing the motion.

Anko stammered quietly, then just stayed quiet. She didn't have a proper response for anything like that ready.

Kishiro straightened. "Now we can let Agil know we're ready when everyone else is. And until then, I can get you stocked up on any materials you need, especially with this armor."

Anko nodded, her face getting a bit hot from all the compliments.

* * *

It would take another month for the force to be ready at last to return to the struggle of clearing the game. In that time, Anko would receive several large orders from guilds like The Army or Knights Of Blood. She gave Kishiro the list of how much of each type of ore she'd need, and he'd set out to gather it. Not only did he mine in record time, but when people who'd seen him in the mines before saw his armor, he quickly earned a name for himself at last. No one else in the game had the skill to reach the obsidian, gather enough ore, smelt and create his armor. And no one else would get his gauntlets, made from the hide of the obsidian dragon that had once guarded the obsidian. Named after his armor, he became Black Onslaught Kishiro. The combination of a master miner and master smith would birth armor unlike any other smith shop. For her outstanding skill, and the help of a black knight, Anko would live up to her namesake. She became known as Darksmith Anko, and the armor she made would go for three times its base price. With all the practice, and ore from high in the tower, many of her creations had unexpected bonuses to resistances. Someone building themselves to withstand blunt attacks would seek an armor she made that happened to have blunt resist bonus. That person would pay a fortune for their armor, but would be better suited for their role than anyone else. For Kishiro and Anko, that meant raking in gold easier than ever. For Agil, who donated most of the profit he earned selling it all to aiding players on lower levels of the tower, it meant helping more people than he ever had before.

* * *

By the time the month was up and the call to action went out, Kishiro and Anko were stronger than they'd ever been alone. When the two appeared together on floor 80, ready to depart for the floor dungeon, they were truly a sight to behold. There was Anko, relatively short, with her blue billowing outfit and black banded armor strapped to it, and her new obsidian scythe. She was framed from behind by Kishiro, a head taller than her and in his black and orange obsidian armor, which she had created. Kishiro stayed beside her and a step behind her on her right, almost as an acting body-guard. The two wandered around the desert village, waiting for the rest of the team that would be the first to delve into the dungeon, and put the new clearing strategy to the test...

* * *

Event 3: Endless Labyrinth coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: BlazBlue reference with Black Onslaught, Dark Souls reference with Anko's Lord's Blade armor, and old Yu-Gi-Oh! reference with Red-Eyes Black Dragon (minus the red eyes, adding some white flames). Feel free to PM me with opinions or suggestions, even if you don't feel comfortable reviewing.


	4. Event 3

Event 3: Endless Labyrinth

* * *

Wind-whipped sand graphics shrouded the approach of most of the new clearing party until they came very close. For Agil and the guild parties who were waiting outside, it was an unnerving feature of the game. Any player or enemy could come just close enough to launch a surprise attack before being revealed from the sand. Needless to say, when Anko and Kishiro emerged and were seen my most in attendance for the first time, it was a sight to remember. Anko had wrapped her head in cloth to protect herself from the sand, more a comfort thing than necessity in Aincrad. Kishiro, in his new obsidian armor didn't have such worries. He was completely encased in the black and orange armor, and the bright orange tassel hanging from the top of the helmet fluttered rapidly in the simulated wind.

Less than an hour later the entire party was accounted for. Everyone huddled close to hear Agil's briefing on behalf of the guild-heads. Somehow, he'd become their unofficial spokesman.

"Let me quickly review the strategy. Guild parties will set up defenses and ready medical crystals, waiting outside for the return of the smaller parties and volunteers. The first phase is to map the dungeon and mark all traps. The second phase is to return and regroup here, share map data, then storm the dungeon straight to the boss door. Since the initial party will already have gotten drops and experience, the guilds will do most of the fighting in the boss room. Smaller parties are to provide support, intercept attacks from the boss, and keep everyone safe, as well as report on attack patterns and openings. Is everyone clear? Are there any questions?"

No one spoke up.

"Then volunteers, form up and head in. Guild parties, form a perimeter and set up support. Let's get this done before nightfall!"

* * *

Floor 80's dungeon seemed to be buried in massive sand dunes. The inside was sandstone caves, dimly lit or not lit at all. With lock on and perception range reduced, every party entered with caution. It quickly became obvious that the first room was just a long hallway, but every few meters there was an opening on either side of the hallway. Twenty different paths to explore, ten on each side. There were a little over forty people in the dungeon, so solo players doubled up and duos headed into each passage. Anko and Kishiro ended up with a passage that turned right once before sloping downward into an unlit passage. Kishiro went first, using his level 8 fist skill, called Zen Stance, to increase his lock-on range. He had high perception already, so it allowed him to see further than Anko, on top of having heavy armor and a close-up fighting style. Turn after turn, hallway after hallway, they met with no enemies. The map data made it easy enough to go back, but picking a path from one of the many forks became more and more difficult.

It wasn't until they finally came to a dead end and had to turn around that they got into a fight. A sandstone golem ripped itself from the flat walls behind Anko and Kishiro, swinging a thick arm at Anko. She jumped back toward the other wall and another golem ripped free behind her. Kishiro ran forward and punched the first golem in the side of the knee, then jumped to grab its head and slam it into the ground. Anko had enough time to slash the golem that had emerged behind her and jump back. Kishiro got hit by his golem as it stood and slammed into the dead-end wall. His health was quickly regenerating, though, thanks to Zen Stance still being active. He'd used it early to use the effects and hopefully have it cool down before the boss fight. He dashed forward to deflect a blow for Anko, then switch off while she countered it. Off balance, the first golem fell to Anko's scythe. She shoved the double-sided blade through its neck once, then yanked it back to attack the same place a second time. A double high-critical and that was that.

After killing the second golem, Kishiro immediately got walking again. If Zen Stance wore off, he'd lose at least three meters of lock-on range. Now Anko and Kishiro started checking the paths they hadn't chosen, expecting more fights at the dead-ends. Sure enough, they only encountered enemies when they had to turn back. Each time, however, two more golems would appear. Two was fine, and four put up a good fight, but six was pushing it, and eight forced Kishiro to use two more of his fist skills. He and Anko ignored the remaining paths to exit, be healed, share what they'd found, and return to clearing. Finally, they found a path that was dimly lit. Kishiro's Zen Stance had worn off after their fight with six golems, so he and Anko were thankful for the boost in sight range. Not only had they found a path with light, but shortly after they came in contact with another clearing duo. They shared map data and found that their paths had been weaving up, down, left, and right just barely staying away from each other. The other duo had run into the same pattern of golems appearing at dead ends. Anko and Kishiro turned back, returning to their path to check more paths.

Three hours later and no one had found the boss door. Furthermore, every time a party exited the ruins and returned, the number of golems reset to two. Eventually, another four hours after that at nightfall, every path had been mapped out. There was no boss door. With everyone out of the dungeon, safe and sound, speculation began. Maybe there were fake walls? Maybe the boss roamed the halls and no one had run into it? No one could figure it out. Several teams went back in, using the map data to find the furthest dead-ends from the front door. Some people took to hitting walls, hoping to break one down. After the sun had completely set and the winds died down, many wanted to go home. Kishiro stood up from his spot by the door and approached Anko.

* * *

"I think I have an idea. But I might need your help convincing everyone," he said.

"What is it?" asked Anko, curious. He hadn't said much all day aside from battle call-outs.

"I think the boss is the golems. Two more appear at every dead end, and not just every dead end on the same path. What if you need to hit every dead end, kill every golem that appears, until the boss shows up?"

"That's suicide! After fighting so many enemies, then you'd fight the boss?! This high up!?..." She trailed off a bit, her expression sinking.

"You see what I mean? If you made a game, a VRMMORPG or not, wouldn't you want to keep things interesting? Wouldn't you throw some curves in, screw with the system, just to keep it fun? In any other game, a challenge like that would be fun. Except here if we fail, we die."

"I think we should tell everyone, and try it in the morning."

"Thanks, Anko..."

* * *

The two took the idea to Agil, and many others heard the idea before he announced it. There were a few outright objections, but the guild-heads were willing to give it a shot. It was agreed that they would return in the morning to do just that. Everyone packed up and headed back to the village. Some used teleport crystals to spend the night in their own homes. Anko was one, but Kishiro hadn't bought a home. He stayed the night at an inn in the village. In order to continue getting accustomed to his armor, he slept in it. The black and orange armor made him almost invisible in the dark of his small room. During the night the wind picked up again, howling like ghosts haunting the village.

Bright and early, Kishiro got up, ate something at a nearby shop, and waited for Anko by the teleport platform. He didn't need to wait long, and soon the two were traversing the desert sands again, on the way to the labyrinth they'd spent all day in the day before. When everyone finally showed up, well over one hundred players, the clearing effort began. It would be the first truly organized assault on a floor dungeon. Anko stayed on the side of the force and Kishiro stayed at the back. He knew that when everyone reached the first dead end, the back of the force would be the ones fighting, not the front. Many melee fighters thought the same, and soon Kishiro was flanked by mace and hammer users in armor much heavier than his. The group started down the first path on the left, heading for the furthest dead end first. The first five or six dead ends went by very quickly, the golems unable to land a single hit with the amount of players attacking them at once. In two hours the left side of the dungeon was clear and the group moved to the right side. As they left the main room, Kishiro noticed something at the end of the main chamber. A symbol, in a half-circle had appeared. He kept his assumptions to himself, but that changed his opinion. What if the boss door only opened after every dead end had been hit?

Winding through the tunnels for three more hours, fighting hard in the last few dead ends, finally the group hit the last dead end. Kishiro hadn't had to use any skills, relying on the other players to cover for him if he wasn't fast enough. Several people yelled to guild members to get ready, preparing for the boss to appear at any second. Golem after golem fell, and still no boss. The last golem fell, crumbling and shattering into nothing, and everyone got very quiet. For a moment, no one heard anything. Just as someone opened their mouth to complain, a massive crash shook the entire labyrinth. Kishiro started walking first, and once a few followed him, everyone did. Sure enough, the symbol Kishiro had seen had filled and opened a hidden door. In the boss room, clearly visible, was a massive statue. It remained very still, but it seemed obvious that it was the boss. Everyone made sure they were healed and ready to go, the formation changed, and a charge was announced into the boss room...

* * *

Once everyone was inside, as the last five floors, the door closed behind them. Several support players tried teleport crystals, which, just as expected, did not work. The huge statue stood up from its stone chair, ripping a stone spear off of the wall. All around the room, even more golems like those the party had fought for hours walked out of the walls. Just as planned, the solo players started killing off the extra enemies while the guild parties started assaulting the boss. The boss handled its spear expertly, swinging its blade across the floor in a slashing motion. The massive stone partizan pushed blocking players across the floor and knocked over unguarded ones. It wasn't quite an instant kill, but as soon as someone's health got low, the golems began trying to fight over to them and finish them. Kishiro had Zen Stance active, and threw himself at every golem that targeted a weakened player. Several times his health fell to red, but he was able to avoid damage long enough to regenerate before more damage.

When all the small enemies were dead, solo players began attacking the statue's knees in between it's massive swings. When its health dropped to half, it put both hands on the spear for its swings and stabs. This simple action added incredible force to its attacks, and in moments it instantly killed an off-guard player. The damage, even through a guarding player's shield, was overwhelming. Players started switching off between guarding its hits and countering. Several vanguards were forced to back off, almost killed through their shields. One player's shield broke from all the hits he'd taken, and he fell to the statue's next attack. When the statue's health fell below 10%, it started executing spinning attacks, stomps and kicks. Many players were forced to the edges of the arena, some even squeezing into the indents of the walls were the golems had come from. Kishiro saw an opening and yelled to one of the nearby guild parties. They agreed to switch out and counter if he could deflect an attack.

* * *

"Fist skill, level 9! Iron Flesh!" yelled Kishiro, slamming his fists together. He flashed silver and the ground under his feet cracked from his sudden increase in weight. Kishiro walked forward, struggling with every step. The statue noticed him and swung its partizan with both hands, the blade aimed at Kishiro's rib level. Kishiro held up a hand to grab the blade, stopping the attack cold. He didn't even slide over the ground. The guild party took their chance and charged the boss, dealing huge amounts of damage. The last blow came from a girl holding a mace Kishiro recognized as a smith. Iron Flesh had canceled Kishiro's Zen Stance, however, and his health was no longer regenerating. It remained in the red zone, just below 15%. With tripled defense and his new armor, the boss had almost killed him in one shot, dealing 85% of his health in damage with one mighty swing.

Kishiro collapsed on the spot, cracking the floor again when he sat down. He held his left wrist in his right hand, it being the one he'd stopped the attack with. Cheers went up from the other players. Several people came to thank him for withstanding the attack. Only two people had died...

* * *

Event 4: No Coffin Laughs coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: Just like Kirito, and anyone else with weapon skills (which is everyone in the clearing team, Kishiro has some pretty useful skills. I planned the skills before the story, and I didn't plan the dungeon, really. I just thought a maze fit the desert, so I put that at the end of the last event. Thus far, it's kind of writing itself. I'm going to be adding a villain of sorts next time, and don't be surprised to find more people with unique skills. Kirito had the dual wield skill, but that was swords. Kishiro gets one, the villain has one, and so on. They come from mastery of a weapon or weapon type, or just a skill in general in this fic. Mastery is decided by the system, not the number on your skill, which is why Kirito got his so early. It also explains Heathcliff's being displayed even earlier, since he was already famous for it when Kirito dueled him the first time. Just throwing it all out there. As always, feel free to PM me if you don't want to leave a review...


	5. Event 4

Event 4: No Coffin Laughs

* * *

"This the updated bounty list?"

"Not this time. The Master has an assignment for you."

"Assignment? I'm his apprentice, why didn't he come to me himself?"

"He's dealing with another target. This note gives you the details on yours."

"Right... I'll get it done... Now get lost before someone sees us talking..."

* * *

As it turned out, Kishiro's armor required more obsidian to be repaired. Just a smith alone couldn't do it. So that he wouldn't have to worry about it for a long time, Kishiro had left all of his unnecessary things behind to mine obsidian until he couldn't hold anymore. All he had was his armor, some crystals, and the massive tower shield Anko had given him. He couldn't block with his fists, only deflect attacks. With a tower shield and his huge amounts of health, strength, and his armor, Kishiro would be able to survive just about anything and escape alive. So he kept it with him as a fail-safe. Kishiro made it to the magma chamber where the obsidian mine was without much trouble, and soon he was hammering away at the jagged chunks of black volcanic glass jutting from the walls and floor. Kishiro was from southern Japan, and it would take more than simulated heat and humidity to get him to complain. Still, the combination of punching rocks and the sweltering heat had him sweating in no time. Just more simulation, which he put out of his mind.

In the chamber, several chunks of obsidian stuck out of the walls, climbing the dome all the way to a stalactite of obsidian. On one of the less slanted chunks, a player with a black cloak laid still, watching. Under his cloak, printed large on his back, was the symbol of his guild, The Laughing Coffin. Scorned by many, The Laughing Coffin was a guild full of people who either didn't believe in-game death meant real death... Or didn't care. The guild was up for hire just as much as they killed who they wanted. Most players had run into them at least once, and Kishiro was no different. What made Kishiro important was that he had come so far mostly solo. He had risen in his mining guild rapidly until it got him to the clearing group. He never quit the guild, still contributing and getting information from them, but he didn't spend much time around them. Even for all his absence, he was in the upper circle of the guild. And his guild didn't just deal in rocks and ore. His guild also dealt in crystals, gems, gold, and gear made from such things. If someone bought a teleport crystal instead of finding one or earning one in a quest, they bought directly or indirectly from the mining guild. If The Laughing Coffin could capture or, even better, persuade a high-ranking member to deal with them, it would mean a massive jump in status and power. The mining guild was the only one they hadn't infiltrated thus far.

The player recalled what he'd read on the note. Black Onslaught Kishiro had obsidian armor with especially strong gauntlets, fought with his fists, and had tons of health and damage resistances. His damage wasn't anything special, but his ability to survive and counter his opponents after studying them mid-fight was unmatched. Kishiro had been seen in the company of a master smith recently, and her skill mixed with his presence had earned the her the title of Darksmith. Even members of The Laughing Coffin sought her work in the markets. In the few player duels Kishiro had fought that could be recalled, he had always fought with very poor armor and never used a weapon or shield. His battle-healing, weight load, strength, mining, heavy armor, and agility were known for a fact to be maxed out. By his current level, it was possible to have one or two more skills maxed, along with several in higher numbers, but none had been observed. To top it all off, Kishiro had insight on what it meant for a successful strategy, suggesting the support division of the clearing group and discovering the secret to the floor 80 dungeon in just a day. His cooperation, as well as his partner, Darksmith Anko, would empower The Laughing Coffin. What plans they had, only the guild-master knew, and kept to himself, but if this was to keep the guild alive and strong, any member would have taken the job.

* * *

Kishiro had what he needed, and had even dropped some gems he'd found by chance. There were rubies, sapphires, emeralds, opals, quartz chunks, and all other manner of valuables left in piles here and there in the chamber. Since a player dropped them, they'd stay there for a few days before disappearing. Kishiro had no interest in them, keeping all his inventory space for obsidian on this trip. As he finished, hitting the last rock just a few more times, the Laughing Coffin member above him prepared to make his entrance. With Kishiro's armor, all blackish-purple with orange X's all over it, he looked like a demon as he shook the chamber with his fists. The orange tinted mist lingering in the area, the black rock chips tinking off his armor, and the earth-shattering force of his mining would have made just about anyone quake in their boots at the sight of him.

At last the hidden player dropped, as Kishiro turned to leave. Landing quietly, but not silently, behind Kishiro, the player opened his mouth for his greeting. Before he could even announce himself, he had to jump back and ready his dagger. Kishiro had turned and taken a swing at him the moment he'd hit the floor. The Laughing Coffin member made a mental note to add maxed perception to the list of Kishiro's abilities.

"Hey, easy! I'm not here to fight!" said the guild apprentice.

"Then announce yourself first, or make yourself visible when someone enters the room. You came in here before me, so you've been hiding," said Kishiro, his fist still out, his stance still at the ready.

"I'm not here to listen to your lecture on morality or etiquette. I'm here to extend an invitation from my guild master."

"I'm already in a guild."

"You know it's possible to be in more than one. I come representing The Laughing Coffin. We have need of your guild's services, and of your expertise."

"So commission them. I barely work for them, and I'm certainly not dealing with a guild that takes pride and joy in murder."

"Now, now. Don't be so hasty. There are rewards in this for both parties! Think of all the extra business your guild will get. And all our, shall we say, agents get a fair cut of our profits. On top of that, we haven't murdered anyone. There's no guarantee that death in this game is true death."

"I already told you to approach my guild, not me. I don't need your blood-money. And, with all intended spite, if you all really believed death here wasn't real death, you should have shoved your swords into your own guts a long time ago."

"What was that?!"  
"You heard me. Now, you've got a teleport crystal, don't you? How about you get out of my sight before I beat you into a paste."

* * *

"That," said a new voice, "Would be very upsetting."

Kishiro looked around, not seeing anyone else. Between himself and the guild member he'd been arguing with, another cloaked figure appeared. He'd dropped from the stalactite.

The guild member went to one knee instantly. "Master!?"

"Do as he says, and begone."

"Yes sir!" The guild member stood, took out his teleport crystal, and vanished in a flash of blue light.

"I'm flattered," said Kishiro, shaking out his shoulders and arms. "The Laughing Coffin's leader here to visit me. What can I do for you? You want a good fight, or should I just extend my previous offer to you?"

"That won't be necessary. Allow me a formal introduction. I am Jaken, founder and leader of The Laughing Coffin. I understand my apprentice was rather rude, so allow me to make up for it."

Jaken removed his hood, revealing a clean-shaven man with long black hair, combed away from his face. He had a black eye and a blue one, which must have been something natural because Kishiro had never seen something that allowed a player to change their eye color.

"My guild really can't make it without your help. Our plans are almost complete, but with your help, what would take months of preparing for could only take days. I realize your services are valuable, but I also realize you have more than enough money for one player. Instead, I can offer you unrivaled protection and opportunity. I have assassins who can walk with other players and blend in perfectly, who can stop any rogue players or other guilds from surprising you. With my guild you would have access to lists of wanted players, both criminal and decent. With someone so influential as yourself, I'm sure my guild would be willing to let a few good players go and hunt down more of the vile ones. We really can help each other."

Kishiro had relaxed visibly, but inside his armor he still had a hateful glare on his face.

"So, then," said Kishiro. "Let's get this straight. You want my guild's equipment, connections, and money for plans only you know about, in exchange for giving the Black Onslaught protective services and in exchange you'll overlook contracts I disapprove of that you don't care about either way anyway? You think I don't know your guild kills regardless of good or evil, rich or poor, man or woman, with no thought to status or age? You think you have something I want or need? I think you've made a terrible mistake."

Jaken laughed quietly, grinning a mad-man's grin. "No, I believe you have. You see, now you've seen me and heard my name, so since you won't join me, you won't leave this place."

"Gimme one good reason why I shouldn't either kill you, capture you for questioning, or just teleport away."

"Oh, it's very simple. You see, I have many apprentices, some more skilled than others. One such apprentice is a member of the clearing team. He has orders to ambush and kill you and your partner if I don't contact him by tonight. You'd never see him coming, he really is one of my favorites. And, to turn your statement on you, I can teleport away as well. I see no reason to fight you."

"I don't see you having a choice. I can just withstand your hits and run away. You, on the other hand, have light armor on. I doubt you can get away long enough to stay uninterrupted to use a crystal."

"You overestimate yourself. And you'll regret it in hell."

"You underestimate me, and you'll regret it here and NOW!"

* * *

Jaken reached into his cloak, pulling out a teleport crystal and jumping back.

"Teleport! Flo-"

"Fist skill! Level 7! Air bullets!"

Kishiro punched the air in Jaken's direction and blew him off the obsidian chunk he stood on. Jaken's crystal fell from his hand and near a pile of gems Kishiro had left behind.

"Fist skill! Level 4, 5! Balance Control, Bloody Knuckles!"

Jaken had no experience with fist skills, and had no idea what either of the skills did. He drew a short-sword, shedding his black cloak. Underneath, Jaken wore black plate armor, made light and hard. It was good defense against slashing damage, but poor against Kishiro's striking damage. Jaken, figuring he'd have the upper hand in speed, slashed at Kishiro, aiming for the leg to cripple him. Balance Control kicked in and Kishiro dodged the slash, punching Jaken in the chest with a strong jab. Balance Control allowed Kishiro to force a counter if the opponent attacked him, and with Bloody Knuckles upping his attack for a set time, though not as high as the one time use of Rage Stance, it was a heavy blow to Jaken. Almost a fourth of his health gone in one blow, Jaken suddenly second guessed if he could win or not. His best bet was to use his unique skill to escape and teleport, but now he'd have to find time to recover his teleport crystal.

"You look nervous, laughing man. What will you do now? No escape and no chance to win. Guess all it takes in this game is one bad move and it's all over."

Jaken knew the threat was real, but Kishiro had given him an idea. What he said was true, so all he had to do was make Kishiro screw up once. With Jaken's sneak criticals maxed, all he needed was a good shot at Kishiro's back. He rushed again, this time refraining from attacking. He didn't want another critical shot like the last, but he also didn't know Balance Control only worked once every few hours. When he got in close, Kishiro employed a new skill.

"Fist skill! Level 2! Quake!"

Kishiro punched the floor, shaking it sporadically. Jaken stumbled off balance in his dash, but Kishiro advanced without inhibition. He got right in Jaken's face, his obsidian helmet centimeters from Jaken's head.

"Fist skill. Level 10," started Kishiro, magma dripping through his tone. "Thousand Rain."

Jaken tried to bring his short-sword up to deflect the attack, but he was too slow and still stumbling. Kishiro's first hit was in Jaken's shoulder, causing him to start to fall on his back. Before he even hit the ground Jaken felt Kishiro's fists at least ten times. Once on the ground, still stunned and far too slow, he couldn't stop Kishiro's skill from finishing. Kishiro rained nine hundred eighty nine more blows on Jaken, pinning him to the ground with the force and speed of his onslaught. With the last hit, Jaken bounced from the floor, still not dead. As he cleared chest level, Kishiro ducked down, pulling his right fist back.

"Fist skill. Level 1. Dire Uppercut."

The same blow he'd hit the obsidian dragon with to stop its fire breath now hammered into Jaken's back, sending him soaring into the air. As he flipped, end over end, barely a sliver of health left, Jaken caught one of the obsidian chunks jutting from the wall. Any other player would have slipped and fallen off, but Jaken had a unique skill that kicked in. He could cling to any surface, even walk up walls and on ceilings. What made him the perfect assassin now saved his life. Kishiro saw this and was enraged. He began punching the walls with all his might, trying to shake Jaken free. It was useless, and soon Kishiro had to give up. He tried leaping up the chunks to reach Jaken, but Jaken would throw knives at him to unbalance or poison him. For hours Kishiro remained, determined to kill Jaken and deal a heavy blow to The Laughing Coffin. Kishiro ignored his grumbling stomach as Jaken ate food he'd brought with him. Kishiro ignored his drowsiness as Jaken slept lightly. When he could afford it, Kishiro sent a message to Anko to come and help him, but she would be a while. He also warned her about the assassin watching them, so she was extra careful not to be followed...

* * *

When Anko finally arrived, Jaken threw poisoned daggers at her. When she focused on dodging and Kishiro looked toward her to see if she was safe, Jaken jumped down behind Anko. He tried to take her as a shield, but Anko was far from weak. Her scythe at the ready, she swung the butt of the pole back to hit Jaken in the stomach and stun him. He doubled over and Anko sliced at him. Jaken's stunned state was a rouse, and before Anko's scythe ever reached him he was jumping back through the door and running. Anko chased, with Kishiro right behind. Kishiro was much faster than either of them, but the hallway was cramped and circular. He had no room to pass Anko, and if he didn't think fast, Jaken would get away even without a teleport crystal.

"Wh- What are you doiiiing!?" yelled Anko. Kishiro had picked her up and started sprinting after Jaken.

As they ran, Jaken started running up the wall until he was upside down in the hallway. As soon as the hallway broke into a new chamber, Jaken disappeared, running up the new wall instead of dropping to the ground. Kishiro and Anko made it to the chamber just after, but Jaken was already nowhere to be seen. The ceiling wasn't well lit, and they saw no movement.

"Should we run to block the exit to the dungeon?" asked Anko.

"You're not going anywhere!" yelled a gristly voice in the chamber. Several men in black cloaks stood at the other end, short-swords, daggers, and throwing daggers at the ready. More members of The Laughing Coffin.

"Too late now," said Kishiro, disappointed. "Teleport home. I'll guard you until you get out, then I'll be right after you. I don't want to kill anyone if I don't have to..."

Anko lowered her head a bit. She knew he was right, despite not wanting to admit it.

"Alright. I'll be quick!" she said, pulling out her teleport crystal.

As she vanished, several throwing daggers criss-crossed the air where she'd stood. More flew that Kishiro dodged. The last thing he needed was to be poisoned or paralyzed. He dove behind a stalagmite, drew his teleport crystal, and teleported to floor 80, where he had an room at the inn. He sent a message to Anko to let her know he'd made it out and to be careful. Then he sat down with something to eat to puzzle over what The Laughing Coffin could possibly want...

* * *

Event 5: Mastery Of The Fist coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: I had a hard time with this one, which is why it took so long... I wanted to introduce a villain everyone would recognize as a villain, without giving everything away. I wanted Kishiro to fight him, but I also wanted it to end without either really winning. Sorry it took so long, and I'm sure the next one will come out faster.


	6. Event 5

Event 5: Mastery Of The Fist

* * *

A knight fallen backwards. A spear wielding enemy ready to kill him. The cries rising in protest. This was the floor 85, themed as a giant continuous stage performance, the enemies all manner of costumed fakes. Characters from famous plays, a mini-boss fashioned after a blinded Oedipus, jesters, curtains hiding passages and enemies, and continuous music taken from every tragedy imaginable. It was here that the next death took place, the only one since floor 80 for the clearing team, and the only one outside the boss room since before even then.

"We have no choice. Guild teams, prepare to enter the dungeon. We do this like floor 80. Together to the boss door. Cover each other, and protect support. Pair up, and only in pairs. We move in five minutes!"

By now Agil was their commander. He remained unbiased, respected by both solo players and guild members. Kishiro walked over to stand behind Anko, framing her once again in his obsidian armor. Even this far up, no one had found better armor. Individual pieces, yes. But no set of armor alone could match the Black Onslaught. The five minutes were up and the charge was called. There were only two places the boss door could be now, and the force fought to the crossroad. When they split, somehow it was the Knights Of Blood who led the right group. Ambushes dealt with, and all paths clear, one group finally reached the boss door. Some split guild members relayed the information, and soon everyone was back together. The boss door opened to the grandest stage of all, complete with an orchestra pit, seating above the door and high on the walls, and actors. For every one of the clearing team that stepped through the door, another actor stepped out from the curtain. When at last the door closed behind them, disappearing, it became clear that this was a boss to have been fought alone. The actor closest to the group was a poisoned Romeo, moments from death and sickly. But the last actor to exit the curtain bore the mask of The Phantom Of The Opera, and by himself had three health bars. Had one player entered, the fight would have been over quickly. Now, however, it erupted into the largest battle yet...

* * *

Blocking strikes here and there, falling back, Anko slipped up and missed the thrusting sword of Don Giovanni. Thanks to the order to pair up, many had been saved. It took no such order for Kishiro to step in now and save Anko, as she'd saved him twice already. Kishiro's Bloody Knuckles had worn off, and he hadn't had a moment to activate his next skill. His punch stopped the attack in time to let Anko finally pull away, but now he was facing Don Giovanni and his previous opponent, a grieving Madame Butterfly with a Japanese dagger. Now without a partner and facing two opponents, Kishiro silently apologized to anyone he couldn't save as he focused on his own fight. A slash of the dagger, a thrust of the sword, and all Kishiro had time to do was dodge. Left, right, left, right, over and over with no time to counter attack. What made it worse was the lack of facial expression in his mask-wearing opponents. With the overture of Phantom Of The Opera blaring in the background, the unforgiving orchestra playing tirelessly as the simulation they were, the battle raged on. The turning point came when Kishiro noticed the music, gaining a rhythm to his dodging. With the famous Dempsey Roll, Kishiro hammered Madame Butterfly over and over, his sway allowing him to dodge Don Giovanni and keep Madame Butterfly stunned until her death. One more sway and a hit to Don Giovanni, and Kishiro was on the offensive.

"Fist Skill! Level 8! Zen Stance!"

At last the tide was turning. Kishiro's health, barely above the red zone, began to slowly climb. With only a few actors and players remaining on the field, Kishiro took the fight to Don Giovanni at last. Dodging the thrust of his rapier and slamming a fist into his stomach, Kishiro maintained his push forward. Don Giovanni's health fell below 15% and he drew a second rapier, beginning to attempt parries and reposts. One overzealous repost too many, and Kishiro found his final opening.

"Fist Skill! Level 10! One Thousand Rain!"

Kishiro started the skill with a strike to Don Giovanni's stomach, lifting him into the air. As his punches, too fast to see, peppered Don Giovanni to death, some of the last players were forced to pull away. With only Kishiro and five others left, The Phantom Of The Opera's health fell below 50%. He began vanishing in clouds of rose petals, only to reappear fighting someone else. Before long it was only Kishiro and three others, Kirito, Asuna, and Agil. With Kirito and Asuna fighting together, even the trickery of The Phantom couldn't break through their defenses. When it attacked one of them, it was hit by the other. Agil and Kishiro paired up to attempt the same defense, but The Phantom always slipped passed Agil to strike Kishiro. The strikes were too much for Zen Stance to keep his health up, and soon Kishiro was back to the yellow zone. Kishiro tried to use Quake to stun The Phantom, but all it ended up doing was shaking the surroundings. The Phantom was too light on his feet. When his health fell below 25%, The Phantom Of The Opera pulled away, fluttering around the room and turning out the lights. He also began attacking the wounded players near the walls, those who had pulled away to avoid death. His rose petals filled the room, making it difficult to see very far. It was Kishiro who spotted the weakness at last. In the dark, with the glowing rose petals fluttering in the air, it was The Phantom's mask that gave him away.

* * *

"I see it!" he yelled, disappearing from Agil's side and into the darkness. When it was finally his turn to be attacked, Kishiro was ready. He spun, poking his elbow into the wrist of The Phantom as he attacked and countering. His punch cracked The Phantom's mask. The Phantom shuddered in rage, throwing his hands up, clearing the room of rose petals and turning the lights back on. He vanished, appearing on stage. His mask fell, revealing a twisted and angry face. With a flick of his wrist, Kishiro vanished as well, drawn to the opposite side of the stage. Spotlights shone on the two and the lights dimmed. The orchestra paused a moment, preparing for their final piece of the night.

"Kishiro!" yelled Agil, running to help. He collided face first with a sudden wall of rose petals. The Phantom would have no interference with the one who had exposed him.

"Only one skill left..." said Kishiro, meaning to speak to himself. His voice unexpectedly echoed into the audience, as if he wore a microphone. Only Anko knew all of his skills, and she hung her head in sorrow. Quiet as she was, her nature wouldn't let her cry out for her partner.

Slamming his fists together once more, Kishiro announced what she feared.

"Fist Skill! Level 3! Rage Stance!"

Kishiro's body gave off steam, escaping from gaps in his armor. He looked like a volcanic spirit.

The orchestra struck up, from the beginning of the boss' overture, this time with brass blaring loud over the rest. The Phantom dashed, his black cloak billowing out and small knives flashing. Still it hadn't drawn it's sword. Kishiro dodged, keeping aware not to fall from the stage or hit a wall. He waited to strike, knowing he only had one good hit because of his Rage Stance. Once he struck, he'd be more likely to suffer a critical hit for thirty minutes. He watched The Phantom's every move, watching for the perfect opening. When at last it came, Kishiro lashed out, hammering his fist right into the burned half of The Phantom's face. The attack staggered the boss, the first time in the fight. Kishiro took the chance, punching the boss down below 15%. When The Phantom recovered, laughing hysterically in a less than human voice, he drew his sword. A rapier with a slicing blade, it seemed the perfect elegant match to its wielder. Like something right out of a play, Kishiro and The Phantom danced the sword's dance. The orchestra gave way to a lone pipe organ, played by a multi-armed ghost.

_I see it... I see it!_ thought Kishiro.

The Phantom stepped and slashed, then stepped again for another. On his second step, Kishiro slid his obsidian boot over the polished wood floor and intercepted The Phantom's foot. The Phantom pitched forward and to the side, off balance. Kishiro hooked a blow into The Phantom's ribs. The attack did more damage than his normal punches, and the entire crowd moved forward, on the edge of their proverbial seats. In the master stroke of the play, Kishiro had mastered his hand-to-hand skill. Not determined by numbers, mastery is earned individually. For Kishiro's mastery, he had earned his first and only unique skill, a passive called Step Control. The better his timing when intercepting an opponent, the higher percentage of his base damage he did.

The Phantom recovered and renewed his attack. Before long, Kishiro interrupted another attack, pulling off another critical. Showstopping blow after showstopping blow, Kishiro wore down the boss right to the end, the first one he'd ever killed. For his victory, he was given "The Phantom Cape." He also received weapons from the actors he'd finished, but he'd sell those or give them away later. Now, he donned his new black cape. When he slid his feet across the floor, he seemed to kick up rose petals that weren't there. The orchestra packed up and vanished, the music stopping. What Kishiro didn't expect was the applause he received. When he looked, expecting it to be an ambient sound, he found that the clearing team was making the noise themselves. Kishiro hooked his arm over his stomach and bowed, the orange tassel on his helmet swinging down. Behind him, the curtains parted, revealing the way up to the next floor...

* * *

Kishiro straightened after the applause and headed down to look for Anko. He thought he'd seen her when he almost had to guard from an "attack." Anko had run up and tackle-hugged him. For a moment he was stunned, but he recovered, putting his gauntlet-covered hands on her back and laughing.

"How'd you like the show...? Anko...?" he asked. When she wouldn't let go, he'd said her name. She wouldn't move. Through his armor, he couldn't feel her squeeze harder. She mumbled into his shoulder, sounding distraught. When Kishiro asked her to speak up, she yelled at him.

"Don't do that again!"

Kishiro flinched. She'd never yelled like that before. He dipped his head, his motion the only way he could show expression. He nodded, putting a hand on the back of her head and hugging her back now...

Brushing off the praise from others on the clearing team, Kishiro felt he needed to hurry away with Anko. He got the feeling she was embarrassed by what she'd done, but he could see she didn't regret it. She was walking right next to him, as opposed to being satisfied with walking out in front. Up the stairs and away from the eyes of others, Kishiro and Anko were the first two to see floor 86. They were greeted with a sight greater than the volcanic fields of floor 78. Kishiro had always been partial to cave settings, but this took the award for the best he'd ever seen. Gems larger than buildings jutted from the ceiling, lighting the floor in a cool blue. With few exceptions, most floors had simulated skies. Here, a few cities could be seen hanging from the ceiling with floating crystal staircases leading up to them. Anything was possible in a game, and for the most part, Sword Art Online had stayed close to realism. But the closer the players got to the top, the more they began to feel as if they were in a game; as if the game was reminding them that this was not where they were born. Beneath Kishiro's feet, the rose petals changed to crystal dust. The graphic apparently changed based on floor.

"A miner's dream?" asked Anko, looking up at Kishiro, hidden behind his helmet like always.

"You bet... I'll have fun exploring here..." he said. His head never moved to show he'd looked at her, transfixed on the scene.

"Do you think you'd buy a house here?"

Kishiro looked down to her. "Not a bad idea..."

"Then we can't stand around here for long..."

Kishiro nodded and the two continued forward...

* * *

As it turned out, Kishiro would by his first house in SAO on floor 86. Carved into a massive stalagmite, crystal windows deformed the outside view but allowed light in. Anko set up a new shop on the first floor. Floor 86 seemed to be the perfect place for smiths and miners. What few knew, and less cared to know, was that Anko had sold her old home. By some miracle, Kishiro and Anko had overcome their social awkwardness, and another pair was created in SAO. Few had found love in SAO, and even fewer remained part of the effort to clear the game. The power such a pair had was proven anytime someone watched Kirito and Asuna in battle. Now there was even more evidence. With ore, gems, metals, and players everywhere Anko and Kishiro worked like they never had before. Anko worked hard to perfect her jewelry, the only aspect of her forging that needed work, while Kishiro journeyed all over the floor to gather what she needed. Ever the explorer, Kishiro enjoyed his work, and since he gained Step Control had become ever more frightening. As Anko worked hard all day to fill new orders, Kishiro worked all day for the materials for the next day. But the work was not forever, and every night both found rest in each other. Before long, the clearing effort moved on, fighting ever higher, training harder, and reaching further every day. When the time came to delve into the dungeon of floor 90, it had been another year since Kirito had fought the final boss early and failed. With only ten floors to go, efforts redoubled, guilds gave speeches, and all of Aincrad seemed to rise up for the final push...

* * *

Event 6: PoH's Heir coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: As I said in the opening, this is based on the animated adaptation of Sword Art Online. It will eventually explain many things, including the time differences between the fan-fic and the actual anime. One thing I was ignorant to, since I only had the opportunity to watch the adaptation, was that there was once a leader of the Laughing Coffin, and that it had been wiped out before. So, to correct this, the next chapter will explain the current existence of the guild.


	7. Event 6

Event 6: PoH's Heir

* * *

Continuing the trend started since the end of floor 75, floor 90 had been a bit surreal. The floor itself wasn't large, since the floating castle narrowed near the top. The dungeon wasn't long either, instead housing the most powerful enemies yet, with almost human intelligence. If the example set by Yui was any indication of the system's capability, human and even more advanced intelligence could be waiting for them. What really set floor 90 apart, and what horrified every single surviving player the moment the boss door opened, was the system's display of distorted space. On the smallest floor yet, the boss door opened to reveal a vast barren plain that seemed endless. It was as if the door had opened back to the real world, or as if the space beyond the door extended forever. The clearing team, guilds front, center, and rear, framed by solo players and duos, entered awestruck and afraid. What boss could possibly need so much space to function?

Eyes shifted everywhere. No boss and no staircase upwards in sight.

"Watch the sky," said Kishiro to Anko. He was scanning the simulated clouds as well, his helmeted head moving back and forth.

For several minutes, an tense eternity, no boss appeared. Finally someone spotted something.

"Over there! On those mountains in the background!"

People started turning to look so Kishiro and Anko followed their gazes.

Far away, almost fading into the distance, a huge gray and red demon sat on a mountainside, his chin resting on his fist. His thin and pointed tail waved back and forth, showing he was alive.

"I don't think that's a background," stated Kishiro, loud enough for others to hear.

On the way to the demon, grasslands sprawled everywhere with no trees in sight. No monsters roamed the plains, it was only the demon.

"Are you telling me we have to walk all that way?!" complained a player.

"Should we come back tomorrow morning?! The door's still here!"

"We could set up camps on the way," suggested someone else.

"I say we go for it!" said another.

Conversations, debates, and more announcements broke out for a moment until the guild leaders joined and votes were taken. After a few minutes of decision-making, it was decided that the group should return tomorrow prepared for a longer stay. Kishiro and Anko returned to their home on floor 86, spending the rest of the day to relax. After months in his armor, Kishiro no longer wore it like a second skin. He was used to it now, so he only wore it when he left the house. Anko had an easier time, able to just remove the armor plates from her outfit to get comfortable. Anko knew how to dance and Kishiro knew martial arts, so the two had taken up the hobby of teaching each other what they knew. The rest of the day was spent listening to music, practicing dances and forms, and a few hours simply relaxing next to each other. They were both calm people by nature, and had long ago learned to live happily in Sword Art Online's world. Anything less would have driven them insane. That night, just before 10pm Aincrad standard time, they prepared food enough to share and double checked their weapons and armor before bed. The morning was an early one and soon the clearing team was on it's way to the biggest boss battle yet.

* * *

"Alright, today we are prepared to journey to the floor 90 boss. Spread out over the plains, but stay within sight of at least one other group. The Knights Of Blood have volunteered to take up the rear, so keep an ear out for their announcement of a surprise attack. Let's get moving!"

As always, it was Agil who made the announcement. Kishiro and Anko ended up on the far right wing of the force, no one to their right and in sight of one squad to the left. Hours of walking went by and an agreed lunch break was taken. The simulated sun in the boss room began to set behind the demon on the mountains, so the force took the opportunity to eat dinner. The guild leaders decided to attack just before dawn, in the hopes of blinding the demon to their approach. The sun went down and night fell, the world still lit by the stars far more brightly than should be possible. Kishiro and Anko decided to take turns sleeping and keeping watch over each other. Anko slept first for three hours, then Kishiro. It was a surreal feeling to be sleeping in grasslands under the stars and in sight of a demon large enough to use a mountain as his chair.

Anko scanned the area for the hundredth time that night to notice displacements in the tall grass. She shook Kishiro and prepared to face the enemy. The displacements grew ever closer, but the screaming of surprise and death came from behind them first, from the rest of the force. Fighting broke out and sounded like it began to move away. When the sounds died out, and Kishiro and Anko were all alone, the displacements they'd spotted began moving in again. Out of the tall grass, crouching assassins stood. Blades glinting in the starlight they surrounded the two, out of range of attack. The two backed into each other, sizing up their enemies. From Kishiro's right and Anko's left, the circle parted slightly and another hooded figure stepped forward.

"It's been a long time hasn't it, Black Onslaught?" said the figure, lifting his head to barely show the face of Jaken.

"You again..." growled Kishiro.

"It's taken us quite a lot of work without your help to reach this point. I must say you deserve what we are about to give you. This has gone on long enough. This effort to clear the game ends tonight. With the major guilds gone, and any rival players dead, the Laughing Coffin can rule this world without opposition. Master PoH never told us his true intentions, but after this he'll surely come forward at last! I, his only apprentice, will carry out your assassination with my own two hands! I see why you favor your fists so much, but I assure you that your take on the skill is flawed and useless against me."

"You're joking. You maxed your hand-to-hand just to fight me? You, since we met almost a year ago, trained this long and you think you understand your fists? I've been at it for three years here, and twelve years in the real world. I'm not here to listen to you, your plans, the intentions of your master, or anything else you have to say. If you want to talk as if you're in control, why'd you bring twelve guild members to help you instead of dueling me?" mocked Kishiro.

"I know your game," said Jaken, "And it won't save you. You know you cannot beat us all, so you think you'll goad me into challenging you. It won't work. I've worked too hard, come too far, to worry or care about fairness. You, Kirito, Agil, Asuna, Anko, and every other player who could stand in our way die tonight."

"Can you do it? Kill all of us at once, in one night without dying yourself?" asked Anko.

"Very easily. You see, we may speak now, but when we fight you will never see us. This tall grass will be your undoing."

"Since you can't see my face, I thought you should know I rolled my eyes," said Kishiro.

"Cute," said Jaken flatly, "But unamusing. Good bye, Black Onslaught Kishiro. Good bye, Darksmith Anko."

* * *

The circle of assassins stepped backwards, lowering into the grass again.

"Anko, you've got the range, hold them back. I trust you."

"What will you do?" asked Anko, calmly.

"Play their game," said Kishiro, a cruel smile in his voice.

He crouched low and slipped away. Anko was in his party, so she could track his name even after he vanished. She turned away, watching the other three directions for attackers. An assassin rose from her right to slash at her. She stepped away, spinning, and sliced through him with her scythe. He was much lower of a level than her, and couldn't wear enough armor to lower the damage. He lost an arm in her counter attack, but he disciplined himself enough to sink back into the grass, wounded. Three assassins rose, two on the left and one in front. Anko prepared to block the front one before attacking the two, but when she glanced left Kishiro was hammering both of them and using Step Control to unbalance them. His forced critical attacks chewed up their health and even broke one's dagger. Jaken jumped up on the right, standing _on_ the grass by exploiting his unique skill, running passed Anko to slash at Kishiro's head. He would have succeeded if not for Anko slicing at his feet and forcing him to jump off course. Jaken tucked in his feet, rolling back into the grass and out of sight. Kishiro had vanished as well.

The fighting went on, and several clashes later, Kishiro had managed to fend off most of the assassins, but hadn't caught Jaken yet. He looked at the boss through gaps in the tall grass and decided he could afford to use a few skills, given their recharge.

"Fist skill," he whispered, "Level 2. Quake."

He dashed forward, right in front of Anko, who got startled but didn't attack, and slammed his fist into the ground. Dirt and grass flew into the air as a graphic and the remaining assassins stood, stumbling as the ground shook. Kishiro caught sight of Jaken and immediately used his level 6 skill, Dire Straight. He shot through the tall grass, propelled by his fist alone, and hit Jaken in the chest. Jaken jumped to his feet, putting his dagger away and lifting his fist to use a Quake of his own. Kishiro activated Balance Control, on top of his passive Step Control, and interrupted Jaken with Dire Uppercut. In one blow he shattered half of Jaken's health, sending the assassin soaring into the air.

"Now, your final lesson," said Kishiro as Jaken peaked in his flight.

"Fist skill. Level 3, 10! Rage Stance, Thousand Rain!"

Jaken realized what was happening as he fell. Rage Stance normally only powered up one attack, then left the user open to criticals for half an hour. Thousand Rain _was_ one attack, but with a thousand individual hits. Kishiro tricked the system into overdriving a thousand hits instead of just one. Kishiro made sport out of juggling Jaken in the air with his punches, flipping him over, popping him into the air, catching him on the end of his fist, but always the system made sure he hit. Jaken's health drained in seconds, but he couldn't die until the thousandth hit was struck. Trapped in the skill, he had a few seconds to wonder if he really would die. When Kishiro struck the final blow and Jaken faded to blue and shattered, the rest of his assassins stood out of range and watched. Kishiro turned to face Anko and the remaining assassins.

"You gonna pick up your leader's slack and take his beatings, or are you gonna run away and never come back?" offered Kishiro. He still had Zen Stance if the fight dragged on, and if worst came to worst, he pull out of the boss fight or play a supporting role.

The assassins said nothing, only looked at each other, drew teleport crystals, and vanished. Kishiro and Anko rushed from where they were to check on the rest of the clearing team...

* * *

"Everyone listen up! Due to the attacks, we've lost two more players and were forced to kill seven. Among the dead is the current leader of the Laughing Coffin guild, Jaken. Kishiro was the one who killed him, but since Jaken didn't hit him even once, has an orange warning. Kishiro is no criminal, so see to it he isn't charged as one. The others who were forced to kill their attackers did so out of system-judged self defense, so they did not receive a warning. We are now leaving it up to a three to one vote to either go home and try again another day, or stay and fight. We need three votes for the boss for every one for home. Make your votes now!"

Players sent messages to Agil, the subject holding their vote.

"We press on, then!" announced Agil, sending a mass message to all players who voted how.

The team spread out again, trying to get more sleep before the sun rose. One group didn't sleep, depressed by the loss of their guild leader, one of the two dead clearers...

The fight with the floor 90 boss would be one of legend, an iconic fight in which several players climbed the monster to attack its head. Thanks to teleport crystals being allowed, no one else died after the assassinations. Both Kishiro and Anko made it to the end of the fight, receiving their reward. However, they returned home rather than wait to see the next floor. With the new floor would come merchants and information brokers, some of which may not have heard about the assassins. Kishiro didn't want misunderstandings, so he stayed home until his orange warning was lifted. Another few weeks and floor 91 was cleared, with fourteen people dead due to the boss' low health tactics. With numbers of clearing players dropping, a call went out for volunteers to boost lower leveled players to have them join the clearing team. The effort to clear the tower halted while more help was trained from the surviving players...

* * *

Event 7: Losing Hope coming soon...

* * *

Author Note: I had intended on writing a big and crazy boss fight with that demon, another thing I didn't exactly plan, but in the end I decided not to. I'm great at action, but what I need to practice is character development. Next event could be considered "fluff" so feel free to skip it. I'll make sure not to advance the story in any crazy way that I can't explain in the opening of Event 8. Til next time...


	8. Event 7 (AN Included)

Event 7: Losing Hope

* * *

With floor 92 left alone and far above, many players from the clearing team retreated downward to recruit others and train them for the front lines. Kishiro and Anko found three small guilds that would accept their help. Eventually the three guilds merged to one, still under the guidance of their aids. When the guild was able to function alone above floor 80, Kishiro and Anko broke off and trained more people. So the cycle went for many clearing players. After weeks of training others and guarding them, Kishiro and Anko had enough and retreated to their home on floor 86. With little to no orders coming in, the two were free to do as they pleased. One day, less than a week before the clearing team resumed action, Kishiro and Anko learned of a crystal cave somewhere on floor 86. Inside was rumored to be yet another rare mineral and mini-boss.

Kishiro equipped his obsidian armor, once again obscuring his face behind the featureless black mask with orange X's on the sides. Anko made sure her inventory was as clear as possible, reminding Kishiro to do the same. As Kishiro stored what he didn't need, he asked Anko more about where they were going.

"Do we know where this cave is?" he said.

"The entrance is actually in the floor dungeon, hidden somewhere. I heard it was a trap someone fell into," answered Anko.

"A trap? Did anyone die?"

"No, it doesn't block teleport crystals. All they reported seeing was a crystal cave and the mini-boss."

"What was it?"

"They thought it was some giant worm or centipede. No one else has gone down there, since no one else is interested in fighting a mini-boss this high up without a large team."

"Ahh, we can do it. I've got my fist skills, you've got scythe and halberd skills, and we both have teleport crystals. I doubt we'll have THAT much trouble."

"This is floor 86, though. Remember that we've only reached up to floor 92. Six floors isn't a massive difference."

"I'll be careful. As long as you've got my back and I've got yours, everything will be fine. I'm good to go, how about you?"

"Good to go."

"Then let's find this crystal cave!"

* * *

Kishiro stayed on rear guard while Anko pressed the attack. She was training her spear and halberd skill, so she needed to fight more than he did. She was also just starting her current level, while Kishiro was halfway through the same level. As they searched and fought, they ran into several traps they'd seen before. Still no secret rooms or hidden passages...

In short order, Kishiro and Anko cleared most of the dungeon, eventually discovering the hidden passage to a cave. Within, crystals so wide you couldn't reach around them jutted from the floor, walls, and ceiling, glowing blue. As reported, a large centipede covered in a crystal exoskeleton attacked, skittering around the crystals in the cave easily, evading and wearing down Kishiro and Anko. When it seemed they may have to retreat, the first guild they had trained entered the cave. Fending off the monster and saving the two who had helped them reach this point, the guild stayed around to guard Kishiro while he mined samples from the crystals and mining spots in the walls. Anko and Kishiro thanked them, though Kishiro did more of the talking. The guild understood, remembering Anko to be a woman of few words. Upon returning and exploring crafting options, Anko discovered the crystal could be used to make teleport crystals, healing crystals, and other such useful items that were once only available from enemy drops. In the rest of the time before the clearing team set out once more, Anko and Kishiro worked to fill the new orders for crystals, and eventually had to ask Kishiro's mining guild to help. When the clearing team finally set out again, this time to tackle floor 92, it had more members than when floor 75 had been cleared. It seemed the final days of Sword Art Online were upon them at last...

* * *

After the clearing of floor 94, the red robed figure from the first night of the game called all players to the lowest level of the tower once more, to the Town Of Beginnings.

"I am proud you made it so far," boomed the figure, the creator of the game.

"I am announcing the new features you will now encounter before clearing the game. On floor 95 and above, it is possible to duel players who have obtained unique skills and acquire

new ones yourself by defeating such players. Defeat does not have to mean death, and a beaten player does not loose their unique skill. Instead, based on all current stats, the winner will receive a new truly unique skill that fits their style perfectly. Only one new unique skill can be earned in this way. The next new feature is that the final bosses from here out are styled after players, but have skills and stats far above a normal player. Just as any of the players of higher level, these bosses will be able to cut down many players at once if not blocked and kept in check. Starting at floor 99, bosses can only be challenged by players with at least one unique skill. This means the semi-final boss and myself are only accessible by those who have earned mastery of their skills. Lastly, I feel it necessary to announce the surviving number of players. Currently, that number sits at 6,309. It has been three years and seven months since the beginning of this game, and one year and seven months since I was revealed among you. My announcement is complete. I await you in the castle above this castle, at the top of Aincrad..."

Event 8: The End Of The Sword coming soon...

Author Note: I am sorry for the short event, but I must be honest. I looked at what I'd written and found that I have failed to create anything special with this fanfiction. With little meaning or message behind it, I have decided to cut it short. The next event will be the last, but will be full length and explain the rest of the story. To those who enjoyed this story until now, thank you for your time and appreciation. I am grateful for every view I get as an aspiring author. I hope you will all understand my feelings, and that I do not wish to write something without meaning or passion. It would be torture for me and the story would suffer in the end... Until next time...


	9. Event 8

Event 8: The End Of The Sword

* * *

"You sure about this? I won't go easy," said Kirito, the Black Swordsman.

"I need another unique skill, just like you, and I never asked you to," responded Kishiro, the Black Onslaught.

"Should we make it quick, then? First-strike rules?" asked Kirito.

"Not a chance. Half-loss mode. I'll watch my crits, don't worry," said Kishiro, raising his fists.

"Haha, you'll have to catch me first!" said Kirito.

The two players agreed to the terms and the sixty second countdown began.

They were in an arena, on floor 99, just below the final boss. Floor 99, known throughout the player-base, was Dream-Space. Upon entry, the level had randomly generated using data from the rest of the tower. Bosses from lower floors were common enemies. Rare items, impossible scenes, and nothing but the highest level players could be found there. The arena where Kirito and Kishiro were about to fight was one from floor 86's design, the Crystal Caverns where Kishiro and Anko lived. The entire structure was made of diamond, glowing white from within, and enough seats to hold the starting number of players, ten thousand. The duel had been planned, so naturally almost every player in Sword Art Online was in attendance. It was a chance to see two legends of the game meet in battle. With their respective in-game wives cheering them on, Kishiro and Kirito watched the clock count down to zero...

* * *

Kishiro rushed in, knuckles together.

"Fist skill! Level 2! Quake!" he yelled, punching the ground when he got close to Kirito. Stumbling him would allow Kishiro to end the fight quickly, especially with skills like Thousand Rain and his unique skill Step Control.

Kirito jumped to avoid the effect, slashing downward with both his swords. Kishiro swayed to the side, activating another skill.

"Balance Control!" he yelled, letting the system take over. Kirito hit the ground, managing to block with Dark Repulser in time to avoid most of the damage. Slashing with his other sword, Elucidator, Kirito hit Kishiro under the ribs mid-punch. Both jumped back, Kishiro having taken more damage, but having more health to begin with.

"Air Bullets!" yelled Kishiro, punching over and over at Kirito, launching spheres of rushing air at him.

Kirito was able to slash most of the attacks out of the air, taking only one or two glancing blows. While he was distracted, Kishiro ran forward again. Kirito slashed at him, but Kishiro jumped clear over his head. Hitting the ground behind him, Kishiro used yet another skill.

"Dire Straight!" he said, turning and punching at Kirito, aiming for the chest.

Kirito crossed his swords to block, sliding back over the ground from the force of the blow. Kishiro wasn't done, however, activating another skill in close range.

"Dire Uppercut!" said Kishiro, swinging his other fist up under Kirito's guard.  
"Sonic Leap!" yelled Kirito, activating the skill in time to jump back and avoid Kishiro's attack completely. Still in midair, Kirito's skill now carried him forward to strike Kishiro, defenseless.

Kishiro hit the dirt, rolled, and stood, looking at his health.

"Damn! Now _this_ is a fight!" said Kishiro.

Kirito chuckled a bit, agreeing.

"But... I think we're about done," said Kishiro, raising his fists again and walking forward with his guard up. He couldn't block attacks with his arms at all, but having his hands up let him strike faster.

"Zen Stance," said Kishiro. His health regen was inactive in duels, but the skill also sharpened his focus by increasing the amount of frames-per-second he saw and processed. It artificially increased his reaction time.

Kirito, unfamiliar with higher level martial arts skills, assumed it was a mix up with his Rage Stance, since HP regen didn't work. He dashed forward, slashing several times.

Kishiro swayed, ducked, and intercepted every strike, getting exceedingly close.

"Thousand Rain," said Kishiro, starting with a low punch to Kirito's ribs.

Kirito, slipped his Dark Repulser in the way of the strike, beginning to panic. One thousand raw hits was a nightmare for anyone, even in a restricted duel.

"Starburst Stream!" yelled Kirito, beginning his own fifty hit skill. That saved him fifty one hits total, but after that, he'd have to block the rest on his own reaction time. Kishiro's obsidian fists and Kirito's rare swords clashed again and again, faster and faster, letting sparks fly and creating quite a spectacle. Kirito's skill quickly exhausted, however, leaving him to block the rest of Kishiro's skill without system aid. For almost two full minutes, Kirito managed to block every strike, the skill slowed by Kishiro's inability to land a hit. After almost seven hundred successful blocks, Kirito missed a punch for his stomach. The moment it struck, Kishiro let the skill barrage, blowing through Kirito's guard and lifting him off the ground from the force of his strikes. Kishiro used the final hit to slam Kirito into the ground, preparing to continue his assault without system aid. Kirito rolled back, using the force of his impact with the ground to escape. As Kishiro punched the dirt, Kirito activated a skill.

"Horizontal Square!"

Kirito slashed left and right, both intercepted by Kishiro, stepped passed his enemy and slashed again. On the fourth slash, Kishiro seemed to move faster than normal. The world slowed. Kishiro used his passive unique skill, Step Control, on the last strike of Horizontal Square. His obsidian boot slid over the dirt, pushing Kirito's dominant foot further away from his rear foot. The result crippled the force of his blow and sent him tipping off balance. Before Kirito could fully fall, Kishiro slammed his fist into the side of Kirito's head. Kirito barreled in the opposite direction, rolling in the dirt and stopping. His health? Just under 50%...

* * *

The crowd thundered and a window announced Kishiro as the winner with 58% health remaining. The window turned red with white text in the next instant, announcing what everyone was waiting for.

-Unique Skill: Armored Ghost earned-  
-Passive. Allows ultra-short range teleportation-  
-Cannot be used more than once every five seconds-

Kishiro attempted it for the crowd, running forward, flickering, and appearing a meter to the left. He skidded to a stop, ran in the other direction, then flickered again, appearing to run to the right ninety degrees. Another short stop, and Kishiro pumped his fist, then went over to see Kirito. Asuna had helped him to his feet and Anko had run out to the field as well.

"That was one fight I doubt I'll forget," said Kirito, sheathing his swords and rubbing his stomach.

"The same! Thank God these aren't real bruises!" said Kishiro, patting his arms. His armor might have kept him from being cut up, but the bruising was unavoidable.

"Why don't we go get something to eat? It's our last three days here, and we've never gotten to talk much," suggested Asuna.

She was right in that the two pairs didn't know each other well, despite being on the clearing team together. She was also right in that, in three days time, the clearing team planned to end the game soon, one way or another. Everyone able to fight the final boss was present on floor 99, about thirty players. With two bosses left, one right after the other, all of them had agreed on the morning three days from this day. The four left the arena to eat lunch, talking and sharing stories until well after nightfall before finally going home. Their final days peaceful, all players looked now to the clearing team for hope...

* * *

"What the hell is _that_?!" yelled one player.

"This can't be a boss!" said another.

The very floor of the castle was shifting and molding, trying to attack them in the floor 99 boss room.

"How do we hurt it?!" yelled out yet another player.

"Look for a power source! Look for a monster hiding! A switch, anything!" yelled out Asuna.

Players scoured the small room, searching the walls, the floor, scanning the ceiling, all the while avoiding attacks. No one had been hit yet. Kishiro even tried punching the floor, hoping to see a health bar appear. No success. No door to escape. Crystals useless.

"Kirito! Hit the wall!" yelled Kishiro, still near the center of the room.

Kirito did so, but didn't actually hit anything.

"It's an illusion!" he responded. キリトは「幻だ!」と言っていた。

"Dream-Space, people! It's fake! Get out of the room, run through the wall!" yelled Kishiro, regrouping with Anko and running at the wall with her. Players were already disappearing through the fake walls. Once the last player exited the false room, the room vanished. The players now found themselves in a void, every surface like shifting mercury. Silver mixed with gray mixed with black, constantly swirling, shifting, overlapping, and flowing. A few players got dizzy from the lack of obvious up and down orientation.

"Keep it together! This is it!" yelled someone.

They were more right than they could have ever wanted to be. From the mercury, figures rose up before every player, an exact copy of each of them. Kishiro's double had silver X's instead of orange ones, but nothing else was different. Anko's had a silver scythe, and a body made of solid silver. Any player with exposed skin only saw silver on their double. Each double had the exact health of each player, the same skills, the same stats. An exact copy of all their battle data. Fights broke out everywhere, each one being an even match. As the fights began to drag on, still no one damaged. Then players started losing confidence. One was struck. Then a few more. Soon people were starting to be worn down, the illusion taking its toll. Someone couldn't stand the thought of an illusion like this working. With no other way to help the other players, they spoke out.

"It's a trick! Don't let it psyche you out! We've come this far, getting better every day! This is just one more training exercise! You're better than this thing! You, right now, are better than you yesterday, last night, or five minutes ago! _Prove it!_"

It was Kishiro, a martial artist at heart, giving the speech. Fist met fist, obsidian on obsidian. Teleport for teleport, skill for skill, Kishiro was perfectly matched with his double. But as some players could see out of the corner of their eyes, Kishiro wasn't struggling. He was fighting on instinct, like always, but watching his opponent. Watching himself. He'd fought others, adjusting his fighting skill and wisdom to beat them, but it had always been a dream of his to train against himself. Now he could. He was. This illusion was not him. It was who he had been yesterday, and that just wasn't enough to him. Kishiro was the first to strike his illusion and remain undamaged. His true advantage came when his illusion began to "panic," pulling one of his own tricks. It jumped over him, activating Dire Straight to attack him like he'd attacked Kirito during their duel. But that was three days ago, and if yesterday wasn't enough, three days ago was child's play. Kishiro couldn't block like Kirito had, since he had no weapons. Instead, his entire being exuding calm confidence, Kishiro used Step Control. Even with system aid, his double couldn't recover from the loss of balance when Kishiro moved its foot aside. Kishiro hadn't used a single skill yet. He needed them for the final boss. With his own skill and power alone, he struck his double while it fell of balance. The double rolled, righting itself, and charged again... But it had already lost, it just didn't know it yet...

Kishiro was the first to finish his double, instantly rushing to the player with the lowest health and double-teaming their doppelganger. Doubles began falling at last, more and more players ganging up on them. When the last fell and not a single player had died, a cheer went out. Weapons were raised, hugs and hand-shakes went around... Until several players noticed that no victory had been announced. Despite that, the door to the next level appeared, several meters in the air. A floating staircase led up to it. The door itself was painted a red color, carved beautifully, and all down its doors displayed the names of every boss from the rest of the tower, each crossed out except the name at the top. The players ascended the staircase, opening the door to a castle's courtyard at sunset. Before them all was the castle above the castle. The final bosses domain atop Aincrad. The end of Sword Art Online.

* * *

The doors to the castle were pushed open, taking the strength of every player in attendance. They stepped into a massive echoing room, a throne at the other end. On the throne, carved of simple stone and wood, was Heathcliff. His sword and shield rested on either side of the throne, leaned against its sides. He stood, applauding respectfully.

"As I expected of you. Congratulations, players. You've made it to the end. For the pleasure of all remaining players, and for the world, this battle is now being broadcast on public television and many live-streamed videos worldwide. I will now explain the rules of this engagement. There are thirty three of you. As such, three of you may be chosen to face me in one-on-one battle. The three chosen will receive all stats and skills of ten other players. If the one fighting me dies, the ten connected to that player also lose all their health. Some of you may think this is unfair. I will show you why it is not."

His health bars appeared, each one displayed actually three. He even displayed his stats and skills.

"Choose your players wisely. Defeat me, and you will all be set free. Fail, and the game ends anyway. I trust you understand."

"What?! No! That's not fair in the slightest!" called out a player.

"No? Then, tell me, who else aside from you all possesses a unique skill? Did you forget the rules? Only players with unique skills may challenge bosses this high up. You are the only players who have such skills, and you all entered at the same time. With no players left to challenge me, unless a player happens to earn one before this battle ends, the game ends by default."

As he spoke the players realized their mistake. He was right, as he knew he was; it was their fault for overlooking that fact.

"Now choose, and let the first step forward."

* * *

A long time passed, discussions were held, votes taken, and a plan formed. Kishiro stepped forward first, a sixty second timer in his display. Another was in Kirito's display. An open duel, with death match settings. Kishiro challenged Heathcliff, also leaving it as an open duel.

"While I will accept an open duel, the system will prevent anyone else from attacking me. But it was a good try," said Heathcliff, confident he'd seen through their plan.

The two approached each other, Kishiro's health increasing ten-fold along with his other stats.

"I'd say may the best man win, but we all know I'm going to lose here. And normally I'd be modest, but I'm fighting a murderer. Good luck, though. Because not even luck will save you," said Kishiro, raising his fists.

Heathcliff just narrowed his eyes, picking up his sword and shield and stepping down from the throne to face Kishiro.

The two began, from the beginning with Kishiro on the offense. Heathcliff watched him fight and Kishiro let himself be watched. Finally, Heathcliff started trying to counterattack, beginning to exploit openings and avoiding the openings Kishiro left on purpose as traps. As he wore Kishiro down, Kishiro used Zen Stance, useless for health regen in this duel, but increasing his reaction time and allowing him to land several heavy blows. His Step Control gave him a few more, but he still hadn't used Armored Ghost. In fact, he'd never used it since earning it. As Heathcliff wore him down, he pulled boss tactics from all his fights in the tower: he changed his entire fighting style when his health went below 50%. One second he was punching Heathcliff's shield, the next he was behind Heathcliff, punching him in the back. Heathcliff stumbled, his health taking a major blow. One of the players supporting Kishiro had back-stab skills, and it showed. Heathcliff spun, hiding behind his shield, his eyes wide.

"Quite unexpected! To think someone could surprise me in my own game!" said Heathcliff.

Kishiro didn't respond. He pushed his advantage. Punching less, moving more, Kishiro swayed left and right, dashed in circles around Heathcliff, jumped over him, and always teleported when it was least expected. Kishiro was a living fighting style. But Heathcliff was a boss just like all the others, and he would change his style below 50% as well. When he did, it was Kishiro who began to lose, and quickly. Heathcliff had activated the unique skill he'd had as a player, doubling his attack and defense. Soon Kishiro was below 10%, breathing heavily, about at his end. Inside his helmet he smiled. He dashed forward, then teleported the remaining distance, catching Heathcliff off guard.

"THOUSAND RAIN!" he yelled, beginning his skill with a swift uppercut. Heathcliff did his best to focus, and blocked almost one hundred hits before he was surprised again. Five seconds had passed. Armored Ghost could be activated again, and it activated even in mid-skill. Kishiro appeared behind him, still punching. After another five seconds, Kishiro teleported again, again avoiding Heathcliff's guard. With his final hit, Kishiro sent Heathcliff into the air.

"DIRE UPPERCUT!"

Kishiro flew into the air with him, both now halfway to the tall ceiling. Kishiro teleported above Heathcliff as he spun to guard, avoiding his guard again.

"IRON FLESH! RAGE STANCE!"

With his attack nearly tripled and his weight off the charts, Kishiro dropped on Heathcliff with a punch stronger than any attack he'd ever done or would ever do again. When the two hit the ground, the beautifully crafted floor shattered, dust exploded into the air, and the ground shook from the force of the attack. Players began to cheer over the attack, but all cheering halted when the dust began to clear. Kishiro was over Heathcliff, Heathcliff face down. But Heathcliff had shifted his grip on his sword, stabbing right through Kishiro's Black Onslaught obsidian armor using the same force Kishiro relied on. Kishiro's health dropped to 0, he slid down the sword, and shattered in a flash of blue light...

* * *

A window appeared, announcing the winners of the duel. Heathcliff looked twice.

"_Winners?!_" he said, baffled.

The window turned red with white text, announcing a new unique skill.

-Unique Skill: Sword Ghost earned-  
-Passive. Allows short range teleportation-  
-Cannot be used more than once every second-

"What?! Who!?" said Heathcliff, looking toward the crowd. As Kirito stepped forward, Klein held up a blue crystal. In another blue flash, Kishiro fell from the air just above Heathcliff. Kirito used his new skill, teleported, and caught him, laying him on the ground.

"You-! You can't! It's not-!... This is impossible!" said Heathcliff, taking steps back, shocked beyond reason.

"That revival crystal was your idea, Akihiko Kayaba. You just didn't expect someone to hold it this long. And it was you that accepted the open duel without checking the participants," said Kirito, drawing his swords.

Anko ran out to get Kishiro, helping him back off.

"We don't need a third player. Your health's only gone up by 33%. And if Kishiro could do that much, how well will your 'chosen player' do?"

Heathcliff's wide-eyed expression changed.

"Why don't we find out," he said, standing and preparing for the fight...

* * *

-As of November 7th, 2:55PM, the game as been cleared-  
-Apparent time: 4 years, and 2 days-  
-Actual time: 2 years, 1 day-  
-Surviving players: 6147-  
-Experiment successful, data for Project AW collected-  
-Sword Art Online, system purge initiated-  
-Sword Art Online servers clearing, players logging out-  
-Thanks for playing!-

* * *

終わり...?


End file.
